Ackman Exits Mondelez With Cuts in P&G, General Growth

Aug. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Bill Ackman, the activist investor
who left J.C. Penney Co.’s board this week, reported that his
hedge fund sold all of its 5.98 million shares in foodmaker
Mondelez International Inc. and cut stakes in Procter & Gamble
Co., General Growth Properties Inc. and Matson Inc.

Ackman’s Pershing Square Capital Management LP slashed its
fund’s holding in P&G by 68 percent to 8.94 million shares in
the second quarter ending in June, according to a filing today.
The fund sold almost all of its stake in transportation company
Matson, reducing it by 2.83 million shares to 202,913, and
reduced its General Growth stake by 6.94 million shares, to 67.8
million.

The investor bought a $1.8 billion stake in P&G about a
year ago and pushed for the replacement of Chief Executive
Officer Bob McDonald. McDonald stepped down in May after the
company struggled to rekindle growth while losing market share
to rivals. At General Growth, Ackman helped rescue the shopping
mall owner by urging it to file for bankruptcy, which it did in
2009, when he also assumed a board seat.

Ackman stepped down as a director at J.C. Penney after
publicly calling for a faster permanent CEO search and for the
ouster of the board’s chairman. In a separate filing today,
Pershing Square reiterated it held a 17.7 percent stake in the
retailer and noted Ackman’s resignation from the board on Aug.
12 was “the result of a disagreement” with the board.

Pershing Square also today said its fund had a holding in
Air Products & Chemicals Inc., the industrial-gas producer, of
10.1 million shares. Last month, Ackman said he amassed a 9.8
percent stake in the company.